The trip back to the city was… quiet. Gunner and I were thrust into the back of the convoy, and I had to drive the entire way back. Neither of us spoke again. I didn’t know about him, but I was locked in my own head trying to figure out how I could’ve done better back at the checkpoint.
Thankfully, getting back into Silverport wasn’t an issue. It was supposed to be nearly impossible to get in or out of a walled city without permission, but our convoy was waved in without even an inspection. Even Horizon was silent at the blatant corruption. ‘Course it was. The AI overlord never actually helped with anything that actually mattered. Probably too busy saving kittens and running the suicide hotline.
A light pattering of rain fell right around the Mire free surroundings of Silverport. Even the darkness above couldn’t hide the faint, golden glow emanating from the very center of the city.
Freezing cold water splattered against my tail. The driver door had been ripped off back at Checkpoint Alpha-Omega, which meant my entire left side was exposed to the weather. I could already feel it soaking into my under armor.
The moment we entered the walls fully, my phone’s connection finally came back online. Dozens of missed messages and calls filled my logs. My partner at work, my sister, my shift lead—all sorts of people reached out in the week that I was away. I’d be lying if I said my tail didn’t twitch in happiness because someone actually missed me.
Before I could get into any of that, a different message arrived at the top of all of them. It was an unknown number, but that hardly mattered considering the ID attached to it.
>Horizon: Welcome back, Reyna Vargriev
Heh, right. Now you say something. I dropped the phone into my lap, and picked dried blood out of my tail. I’d been alive for twenty years, and could count the number of times Horizon directly spoke to me. Useless bastard. You just here to remind me of my name?
Ding!
>Unknown Number: Drop the hummer and equipment at the 7th st garage. Dismissed until further contact.
Must be from the captain of the convoy… What about my inhibitor? I was promised I’d get one after running this escort job. The effects were already wearing off from the last time I took one, and it hadn’t even been two weeks. Being out in the Mire must’ve accelerated my burn through.
>Me: inhib?
>Unknown Number: We’re sorry, the number you’ve reached is no longer in service. Have a blessed day.
I threw my phone at the dash, and tightly gripped the steering wheel. The only reason I managed to keep my cool was thanks to Gunner still sitting beside me. Raging in front of one of Hades’ people would be… demeaning. I was better than that.
”Something wrong?” He finally spoke, though his voice was barely a whisper.
”No. Just received final orders.” I shifted the car back into drive and split away from the rest of the convoy. “You want me to let you out somewhere?”
”Central Station, if it's not an issue.” He looked down at himself. He was still covered in copious amounts of blood, and looked like he’d been through some serious shit. “Actually, No-Tell Motel. Any of them will do.”
”Right.” Probably for the best he didn’t take any public transport. I couldn’t take it either. Not in my armor, and definitely not covered in blood. Storm sewers, then? It looked like I had a long walk ahead of me to get back home.
— — —
I left the stormsewers and worked my way up a building’s fire escape. It was my usual counter surveillance tactic to ensure no one was following me. I couldn’t risk anyone finding my home. Up on the fire escape, I perched carefully in the shadows and watched the sewer for any signs of a stalker.
Heavy rain fell just as it usually did in Silverport. It gave everything a shaded, heavy feeling. The dense fog billowing along the streets didn’t help anything. In this situation, I was thankful for it all. I brushed off some of the blood covering my gauntleted hand, and leaned back over the half-rusted metal of the fire escape.
The shadows of the alley wrapped around me like a cloak while I watched the streets of Silverport. It was way past midnight, and most of the windows and doors were sealed. Only a few idiots were out singing while dragging their buddies to the next club.
Streetlights flickered intermittently, and cast a dim glow over the dark facades of buildings. Most of the light came from a brilliant red neon sign that gave the whole street a red glow. Resources were scarce in this day and age, so it was pretty common for entire sections to be hit with rolling brown outs. Especially on the less wealthy south-side.
“Because they don’t care about you. No one does.” I ignored the whisper, and shifted my attention elsewhere. I’d get an inhibitor soon. My ears twitched, and tracked something well beyond my sight line.
A tram hurtled across a track. Its body was one massive holographic display of advertisements for various products and services. It vanished just as quickly, carrying civies further and further south from the city’s core.
The rain abruptly cut out above me. A massive freighter hummed above the city as it flew low to land somewhere in north Silverport. I followed it with my eyes for a moment. It was soon lost beyond the dingy, and red-soaked buildings spread out across the city.
After nearly thirty minutes of waiting, no one appeared behind me. I waited a bit longer, and then dropped back down to the filthy alley floor. Rainwater ran in streams through the trash-filled alley, and disappeared into the storm sewer. If nothing else, Silverport’s drainage system was top-tier. It had to be with the near constant rainfall.
I followed a familiar route further south through the storm sewers. Every step sent icy cold water surging over the top of my boots, but honestly it wasn’t too bad. The stormsewers really only became terrible to work through when it was thigh high.
Once I got close to home, I left the sewer systems behind and moved along back alleys instead. My place was close to the slums to the southwest, and there was hardly anyone out at this hour. Even the drunks knew just how dangerous the night was.
I slunk down one last alley, and then climbed up the fire escape to my window to enter my apartment. With a careful jiggle, the window latch slid open and allowed me to slip in quiet and undetected.
“Haah…” A massive yawn cracked my jaw as I stretched out. So tired. Cleanup first though. Once everything dried, it’d be even more annoying—
Something on the couch shifted. The movement registered somewhere back in my brain before I could even fully process it. My foot stopped mid-step, and I crouched back defensively. A bolt of adrenaline flooded my system, and tore apart my tiredness.
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust. Once they did, I relaxed and stood back up. My sister, adorable as always, lay bundled up under layers of blankets in a tight cocoon. One of my stuffed animals, a black wolf, was held tightly in her arms like she never wanted to let it go.
”Heh.” I shook my head, and crept past her for the bathroom.
I picked up a black towel and slowly started to wipe the blood off my armor. The rain that’d drenched me on the way here had already done work, but getting the sewer stench out was always a hassle. It was even worse for my fur.
The armor itself was an intimidating set of sleek combat armor. It was also incredibly androgynous, with protective padding added around that hid my form. That combined with the voice modulator, and there was a reason most people thought Barghest was male. Yet another layer of Hades subterfuge.
Once it was good enough, I pressed a series of hidden buttons. In the mirror, runes flashed all over an imposing figure. There were hundreds of thousands of the small etchings across each part. It was a master-class of enchanted gear—and a gift from my syndicate owners, naturally.
The armor all over my body pulled back and shrunk into itself. The plates receded like a tide. The arm guards pulled into thin, black bracelets on my wrists. The leg armor shrank into anklets of a similar material. The chest and helmet pulled into a collar-like choker just around my neck. With the heavy plates out of the way, the layer of under armor melted away.
“Ugh.” I raised a hand and pulled gently at the collar. It always took me a bit to remember how to breathe around it. I washed my face, and glanced at the mirror.
An exhausted young woman stared back at me, standing at complete odds with the normally intimidating figure of Barghest. If someone saw the before and after, they wouldn’t believe we could be the same people.
Wolf ears, freed from the helmet for the first time in way too long, twitched atop her head. The silver fur melted into her almost pure silver-white hair. A few strands of black marred the noble visage of the Silver Wolf Totem. I grabbed at all the ones I saw, and ripped them out.
The grooming continued down into my frankly ratty tail. I’d tried to keep it out of the water as much as I could, but there was only so much I could do. I needed a shower. I definitely reeked to the heavens. It was probably a good thing my nose was so blocked by the scent of the storm sewers.
In the mirror, she followed my actions. Her silver hair framed her face with wispy bits that flowed down along her cheeks and forehead, which only further enhanced her wolfish wildness. The pale red eyes smoldering with barely contained hatred certainly didn’t help
“Haaah…” A yawn caused her eyes to tear up. Inadvertently, the yawn also revealed extremely sharp teeth and dog-like canines that could easily rip and tear. Although she appeared human at a glance, with a bit of further inspection, she was subtly off like a monster wearing human skin.
I fixed my expression, and my wild nature abruptly faded. A kind smile was the first step, and drew attention to my softer features. My eyes glistened with moisture as I kept them lowered, which gave off a rather demure impression. My pale skin, fair enough to almost always look blushing thanks to exposed veins, didn’t help.
Just as it’d been beaten into me, I transformed into a shy and introverted good girl once more. Gone was the ferocious Barghest. In her place stood a well-behaved and gentle Silver Wolf with an undeniable touch of youthfulness to her features.
A whisper started from behind me. “Disgusting beast. Your parents would kill themselves if they knew their child became such an obedient mutt.”
“Already dead,” I habitually mumbled in response. I flinched at the sound of my own voice, and gripped my fist tightly. I knew better than to talk back.
“What happened to your dignity as a Silver Wolf? You lack an Aspect purely because your Totem despises such a shameless creature.” The woman’s expression in the mirror twisted into a sneer. “Your sister’ll turn out just like you. Useless.”
“She won’t.” She was still young, and had so much room to grow. I was beyond saving, but her? The only thing holding her back was me.
“Not even your sister could love you. How can you even handle being alive?” The mocking sneer intensified, and her tail wagged around eagerly like she caught the scent of blood. “You’d be doing her a favor my killing yours—”
“Shut up!” My fist slammed into the mirror, and it instantly shattered into spiderwebs. The sharp shards seriously sliced up my hand, and blood trailed down my arm.
“Hello?” A terrified voice faintly called out into the apartment. All color drained from my face, and I quickly started to pick up pieces of the mirror. In the process, I only cut myself more.
”It’s me! Sorry, Sylvie, I just slipped!” I called back to her, and sped up my pace. A shard dug into my thumb, cutting deep enough I could feel it grate against the bone.
“Reyna!” My little sister cheerfully called. The soft slaps of her feet against the wooden floor echoed down the hall. “I was trying to stay up for you!”
“I saw!” I forced a laugh, and abandoned the sharp shards. Instead, I propped open the door just enough for me to stand in the way and totally block her view of the bloody and destroyed bathroom.
She appeared a beat later and ran up to me. Although she was just about to turn fifteen, she was already starting to physically mature more than me. She stood slightly taller, for one. It was an unfortunate, and incredibly irritating fact. We looked rather alike otherwise, though she got all the good genes from our parents.
Her ears twitched toward me, and her tail wagged side-to-side in excitement. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
”You looked so peaceful.” And I didn’t want you to see me like this. “‘Sides, it isn’t good to stay up too late past your bed-time.”
”Eh, whatever.” She rolled her eyes, and stared at me. Her amber eyes dipped down to where half my body was hidden by the door. “No hug?”
”I'm disgusting. Haven’t had a chance to shower yet.” I easily deflected. Her tail drooped, and for one stupid moment I wanted to step out and pull her into a tight embrace. Instead, I shifted the subject. “You been keeping up with school?”
”… it’s too easy.” Her eyes brightened. Literally. They caught the light just right for a moment, and reflected a ghostly shade of green. “Combat classes are the only fun ones.”
Since anyone could awaken at fifteen, combat classes were a requirement across the United City-States. I had to drop out in middle school to take care of her, so I didn’t know much about what she was going through. It wasn’t until Hades got a hold of me that I was properly trained.
“You still using what I taught you?” I’d taught her much further beyond the basic stuff they taught. Us wolves, we had our own way of doing things. “They’ll go hard on you if you’re too soft.”
“Nuh-uh! I’m scary!” She curled her hands on either side of her face like she was showing off claws, and growled cutely. The intense expression only lasted a moment before perking up into a bright grin. “See! Totally intimidating!”
“Totally.” I laughed lightly, and leaned my head against the door. My tail swayed gently behind me, matching hers in rhythms. “I must’ve been mistaken.”
Her eyes lit up like I’d just given her a massive compliment. It faded a moment later. Her nose twitched, and the adorable ears atop her head flattened down. “… is that blood?”
My pulse stuttered. For a moment, I’d almost forgotten. Almost allowed myself to forget. I forced myself to smile anyway. “I… cut myself while shaving.”
“Right, because you were shaving while fully clothed…” Her eyes narrowed at me, and filled with suspicion. Somehow, I managed to keep up the convincing expression. ”You sure?”
”I’m sure. Just a small cut. I’ll put a bandaid on it, and it’ll be fine.” A drop of blood fell from my mangled hand, and dripped down my calf. It was already starting to heal.
Although Hades experiments usually only resulted in new fears being unlocked, some of them had been successful. My agility was slightly enhanced, and my natural regeneration had jumped to the point it was closer to a healing-factor. If I took a long shower, the small cuts would hopefully heal enough to pass off.
She sniffed at the air once more, and her ears lowered. “Want me to get you the medkit?”
“I’m fine.” It came out snappier than I intended. Her ears drooped even lower. I suddenly wished the shard of glass was still stuck in my thumb so I could press it in deeper. I took a breath, and put on a smile once more. “Now, I need to get in the shower. When I’m done, want to kiss it all better?”
“Heh, I’m not a little kid, sis!” Relief flashed on her face, likely at hearing that I’d show it to her. She twirled into a spin, and stepped away from the door. “Finish up quickly, ‘kay? I’ll start boiling some water for hot cocoa, and you can tell me all about your trip!”
”I’ll be right out.” I softly shut the door, and the smile leeched off my face. My forehead slammed lightly into the door. I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this.
I straightened up, and glanced back at the blood splattered bathroom. I really, really needed to get my hands on an inhibitor soon.
— — —
AN: Bam, that’s the stinger for this one. Or at least a nice short story. Below is quite the ramble about Seeking. Skip it if you want.
A much stronger start than Stormfall imo, and it did what SFS was trying to do. SFS had a bit of an issue with being slow and dragging, at least to me. Not that SFS is done. I will go back to that one to finish the first book at least. From what I’ve cooked up, this one shouldn’t drag nearly as much? Maybe? Hopefully…
As you could probably see, I’m trying something a little different for this one? First off, with the anomaly system. And the character being a wolf girl. Yeah. Fought with myself hard on whether I wanted to just have her human or not. I don’t think I ever talk about it, but my very first story I ever uploaded under a different name starred a wolf girl actually. Kinda wanted to pay homage to that… and a surprising amount of people asked me to make Shiro a fox girl, so I figured I’d try writing a story like that once more. And, like, fluff will hopefully offset some of the heaviness.
Speaking of, I’m quite worried this one will be too dark. Not many of you were around for Outrun’s start, but I got quite a bit of hate for having some parts way too dark. Totally scared me off of getting into some heavier stuff for a while. I think I just handled it wrong back then?
The plan for this one was to be more character focused and interplay through characters, though admittedly these first three chapters didn’t do that very well compared to the later stuff. And Reyna’s a bit… moody? Dark? Depressed? Oppressed? Might scare some people off.
Also! Pressure! I’ve noticed that I’m terrible about adding external pressure. It’s such a shame, because it makes for vastly better story telling. Like, the time Shiro was being pressed by the Circle were some of the best moments of Outrun. Or when she had to find Mira? Or when she had to find Polar Moon? Ugh, love those sections. Anyway, I wanted to work on having a lot more external pressure for this. Myth//OS is almost entirely internal pressure, and Outrun is also kinda like that. I feel like it’s a bit of a waste.
I’ve got 14 chapters written and lined up. System should come in sometime around 15, and really kickoff around 20. 1 month free if you can guess how it’ll be implemented before it happens. One guess only, and only for the first person.
Fingers crossed the first 20 chapters don’t drag till then, but I don’t think they do. My number one thought process with this one was to write every chapter so that they’d have wider implications, show Reyna’s psyche, or show the world in an immersive way.
There’s a lot more I want to say, but won’t because spoilers. If you read all the way through that blob of a ramble, thank you!